Method of making seat covers



Feb. 19 1924.

A. H. LIGHTER METHOD OF MAKING SEAT COVERS Filed Feb. 24.

IN VENTOR. M04021 H. Lia]: fez? Hi- Y.

A TTORNEY Patented rat. is, we.

- arts ADOLPH H. LIGHTER, OIF TOLEDO, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THEWILLYS-OVERLAND COM BUY, TOLEDO, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

METHOD OF MAKING SEAT COVERS.

Application and February 24, 1919. SeriaI No 279,016.

To all whom it may 00mm:

Be it known that I, ADOLPH H. LIGHTER, a citizen 'ofthe United States,residing at Toledo, county of Lucas, and State of Ohio, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Making Seat Covers, ofwhich I declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This .invention relates to a method of making seat covers, and isparticularly applicable to the'manufacture of seat covers employed inthe construction of automoblles or other vehicles. One object of theinvention is to provide a new and improved method of making seat covers,whereby a considerable saving of time and labor is effected.

A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedmethod of arranging the material, which will permit of the same beingmore readily handled and transported than in the methods ordinarily empA? further object of the invention is to provide simple and convenientmeans for": formin seat covers whereby the various materia s arepositively held in position so as a to eliminate possible unevenness inthe seat cover.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved means forscoring the material so as to clearly indicate'the point where thevarious layers of material are to be secured together. p

Further objects of this invention relate to economies of manufacture anddetails of construction as will hereinafter appear from the detaileddescription to follow,

The objects of the invention are accom- 4 plished in one instance by thedevices and means described in the following specifica-' tion, but it isevident that the same may be varied widel without departing from thescope of the invention as pointed out in the appended claims.

'A. structure constituting one embodiment of the invention, which may bethe preferred, is illustrated inthe accompanying drawing forming a parthereof in which:

Figure I is a diagrammatic representation inplan view of a sheet of thebase fabric wherein a portion is shown'in its inital condition, aportion coated with a layer of ad-' hesive material, and a furtherportion showing a layerof filler applied to the adhesive coating uponthe base fabric.

, Figure II is a longitudinal sectional view taken through the basefabric, shown in Figure I, illustrating the relative thickness of thebase fabric and filler.

Figure III is a plan View of a sheet of base fabric with the "fillermaterial applied thereto, and illustrating the scored lines formedthereon bythe scoring operation.

Figure IV- is a vertical sectional view taken alon the line IV-IV ofFigure HI. Figure is a top plan view of a portion of the completed seatcover, illustrating the form of the same after the top fabric has beenattached. A

Figure VI is a vertical sectional view, taken along the line VIVI ofFigure V, and illustrating the manner of securing the top fabric to theother parts of the seat cover. L

It has been the usual practice in making seat covers of this type to sewthe bottom and top fabric together along substantially parallel lines,spaced substantially at equal distance from each otherand then insert inthe pockets thus formed, strips of filler material extending entirelyacross the seat cover. This method of forming seat covers consumesconsiderable time in that a great degree of care is necessary toproperly fold and insert the filler material within the pockets formedby stitching together the top and bottom fabric portions of the seatcover.

In the method shown and described here with, the various elements makingup theseat cover can be more readily assembled and arranged 1n such amanner as to positively retain allof the parts together, and

in their proper position relative to each other at all times, thuspreventin any displacement of a portion of the ller with respect to thetop and bottom fabric.

In the drawing, similar reference characters refer to correspondingparts throughout the several views, and the sectional views are takenlooking in the direction of the small arrows at the ends of the sectionlines. Referring to the drawing, 10 indicates the base fabric forming aportion of the seat cover, while 11 indicates a layer of sizing materialincludin applied to one o the surfaces-of the base fabric. A thin layerofthis ;adhesive is some adhesive, which is preferably apphed to onesurface of the base fabric in such a manner as to extend substantiallyuniformly over the surface thereof, and the filler material, which ispreferably cotton" or other soft and yielding material is then fed orwoven in a layer of substantially uniform thickness, as indicated at 12upon the adhesive coated surface of the base fabric. lhe layer of fillermaterial thus placed upon the adhesive coated surface of the base fabricis secured in position thereon by reason of the adhesive properties ofthe coating, and there is thus formed a layer of substantially uniformthickness, which comprises the base fabric and the filler, these partsbeing secured together by the adhesive so as to form a sheet of materialwhich may be handled and operated upon in the same manner as though itwas a. single sheet of material, thus preventing the accidentalseparation of the arts. While this method of securing the layer offiller material to the sheet of base fabric is preferably employed,'itis to be understood that any suitable means for securing these sheetstogether may be used such as stitching or employing other suitablefastening means.

After the completion of the first operation, which consists in attachingthelayer of filler m'aterial to the sheet of base fabric, scored linesare formed upon the upper surfaceof the filler material, as illustratedin Fig. llllll, which scored lines are preferably formed by passingthereover a roller provided with a plurality of ridges extending aboutthe circumferential surface thereof, and spaced at substantially equaldistance from each other. llhe circular ridges upon the outercircumferential surface of the rolls form a plurality of depressedgrooves 13 upon the upper surface of the filler material as the rollsare passed thereover, and as considerable pressure is exerted upon therolls as they pass over the material, the grooves are formed ofsufficient depth and permanence so that they are not readily removedfrom the upper surface of the filler material, but the filler materialmay be handled and transported from place to place and the grooves stillbe retained upon the upper surface thereof so as to be sewed to thesheet material thus formed. After the top surface of the sheet materialhas been scored as above described, the said sheet'material may beformed into rolls or arranged in layers so that it will occupy acomparatively small space, and transported to the factory where the seatcovers in their completed form are to be used. The sheet of base fabricand the filler material secured together, as previously described,

ported "thout danger of their becoming the sheet material showing anddescription is illustrative may thus be handled and transand forthepurpo'seof rendering my invenmesses separated from each other, andthe scored the completed seat cover consists in stitchingv a layer oftop fabric such as leather, fabrikoid or other suitable material to thesheet material thus formed in such a manner as to firml secure said topfabric to the filler materia and the base fabric at suitable points.

As illustrated in Figures V and Vll, the sheet of top fabric 14; isapplied to the upper surface of the sheet material thus formed, andstitched thereto along the lines 15 which coincide with the scored lines13 formed in the top surface of the sheet material. lfn stitching thetop fabric 14 to the sheet material the grooved lines 13 serve as guidesfor indicating the. lines along which the various layers are to be sewedtogether, and after the sheet of top fabric has been properly positionedupon the sheet material, the various layers are sewed together byforming French plaits 16 of the top material and stitching the partstogether by lines of stitches indicated at 17. By this method ofstitching the several layers. together, the stitches are concealed fromthe upper or outer surface of the top fabric, thus being concealed fromview and protected from injury.

It will be understood that this method of forming seat covers provides asimple, convenient, and economical means for constructing seat coverswhereby the variouslayers of material are properly held in positionrelative to each other, so as to form a cover wherein the variouselements are secured against displacement relative to each other, so asto form a highly efficient construction of the class described. Byemploying this method, it is possible to place the layer of fillermaterial directly upon the base fabric at the factory where the fillermaterial is produced, and after scoring the upper surface of the sheetsthus formed transport the completed sheets to the place where thecompleted seat cover is to be manufactured withiut injury to the sheetmaterial, and in such a manner that the scored lines will be clearlydefined upon the upper surface thereof, and

the top fabric portion thereto. without the necessity of furthertreating the sheet material prior to the stitching of the top fabricthereon.

While I have shown and described in con siderable detail a specificembodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that thlis on y willbe in such condition as to permit the immediate attachment of eeaeeetion more clear, and that it do not regard the invention as limited tothe details of' tention to claim all novelty inherent in my inventionbroadly as Well as specifically.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. Themethod of making seat covers comprising the securing of the filler tothe base fabric, the scoring of the surface of the sheet material thusformed. and the stitching together of the top fabric, the filler and thebase fabric.

2-. The method of making seat covers comprising the securing of thefiller to the base fabric, the scoring of the surface of the sheetmaterial thus formed and the stitching together of the top fabric, thefiller and the base fabric in such a manner that the stitches will beconcealed and protected by the top fabric.

3. The method of making seat covers comprising the securing of thefiller to the base fabric, and the stitching together of the top fabric,the filler and the base fabric in such a manner that the stitches willbe concealed and protected by the top fabric.

The method of making seat covers which consists in applying a layer ofadhesive to a base fabric, applying thereto a layer of filler, scoringguide lines upon the free surface of the filler and stitching a topfabric thereto along said guide lines.

' 5. The method of making seat covers, comprising the securing of a basefabric and filler material together in such a manner that the parts willbe retained against separation, the scoring of the upper surface of thefiller material whereby depressed markings are formed in the uppersurface thereof to indicate the points Where'the top fabric may bepreferably attached, and the stitching together of the top fabric, thebase fabric and the filler material at the points or along the linesindicated upon the upper surface of the filler material.

t5. The method of making seat covers, comprising the securing of thefiller to the base fabric and the marking of the exposed surface of thefiller material with guide lines, and the stitching together of the topfabric, the filler and the base fabric along said guide lines in such amanner that the stitches will be concealed and protected by the topfabric.

In testimony whereoffi H: LIGHTER.

